Read His Words Before Ours!
1 Peter 2:1-5
1 Peter 5:1-6
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Hebrews 5:12-13
Ezekiel 36:22-38
Incorruptible, Day 11
My husband has the biggest sweet tooth I’ve ever known.
Actually, the second biggest.
My Papa had him beat by just a little bit.
Because of Matt’s love of all things sweet and mouth-watering, I knew our twin daughters would be exposed to delicious desserts sooner than most babies, and I chose to embrace that and laugh whenever the time came…
At six months old, their daddy gave them a taste of his strawberry ice cream. I can still remember their big eyes as that freezing goodness slid onto their tiny tongues. They continued opening and closing their mouths as trying to figure out exactly what they were experiencing, because it certainly wasn’t their mama’s milk… it was better!
Their big eyes shifted into a sparkling gleam and the corners of their mouths turned upwards into grins, as they savored the new delicacy.
Eventually, their teeth came in and as they grew and developed, so did their love for food, expanding from mama’s milk and strawberry ice cream to vegetables and protein.
With that first taste of ice cream, they knew that “grown up food” was good and they began their journey into developing their palates for solid food.
It is natural in our physical lives for the food we eat to change and broaden as we grow.
Just as with our physical palates we grow and broaden in flavor profile and food choices, so it with our spiritual lives. As we spiritually mature, our spiritual taste for spiritual food deepens and widens, moving from beginner’s milk to nutrient rich “meat and potatoes”.
But sisters, we can’t do it alone or overnight.
I never expected my daughters to transition from milk to solid food in the span of 24 hours, or without my guidance. They needed me to provide them with milk, then they needed me to cook and mash their food for them, and now, I still need to cut their food into small pieces before they can digest it.
We cannot grow deep in our faith on our own.
We cannot live a holy life by sheer will power and determination.
Scripture teaches this truth, but I also know it to be true from experience.
Trying to live like Jesus on my own strength is not only exhausting,
It is impossible.
We MUST have Jesus living in us and transforming us from the inside out.
We MUST surround ourselves with biblical community, walking alongside brothers and sisters who also are being transformed by God’s Spirit, who can encourage us and hold us accountable to grow deep.
A simple Google search on the importance of community reveals hundreds of results on the significance of surrounding yourself with people who are encouraging and uplifting.
That age-old quote, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” is hard to argue with.
To grow in maturity with Jesus, it’s simply a non-negotiable to surround ourselves with a community who reflect 1 Peter 2:1, people who have “rid themselves of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander”.
Yes, Jesus loves the lost and broken, the slanderers, the liars, the gossip, the adulteress, and the murderer, but He never intended them to remain in their sin.
He came to free us!
He offers depth and maturity and full redemption!
Jesus spent plenty of time with people who weren’t walking in God’s redeemed grace.
These were who He came for!
But these were not the people He made His community.
Redeemed people, those who have intentionally crossed the line of faith and said yes to Jesus, were designed to grow.
We were given a new heart and the Spirit of the Living God inside us,
we were made for more! (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
The Lord designed our palates to move beyond mushed up carrots and peas,
but to get there, we must consistently spend time in His Word.
Just as any relationship, growth means investment.
We invest by joining community groups and small groups at church, studying the Bible, consistently worshipping at church, and in our own precious time with our Father through Scripture and prayer.
When we invest like this, we’re moving beyond milk, growing our appetite for maturity in Christ. We’re starting to get the really good stuff!
Sisters… if you’re wondering,
“There has to be more? This isn’t everything I thought it would be?”
THERE IS!
There is so much more.
If you feel your walk with the Lord has plateaued, or maybe even slowly dwindled, then you’re still just drinking milk.
Are you craving His Word like sweet strawberry ice cream?
Taste and see that the Lord is good, His food is rich for life!
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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Incorruptible Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Here’s a link to all past studies in Incorruptible!